Prepare for an emotional and comedic ride with “Dying for Sex”, a brand-new comedy drama premiering on Disney+ on April 4.
The series features “Dawson’s Creek” and “Brokeback Mountain” star Michelle Williams as Molly, a woman who has been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, leading her to leave her husband (Jay Duplass) of 15 years.
As she sets out to explore her sexuality, Molly is supported by her best friend, Nikki (Jenny Slate), who joins her on her quest to live the rest of her life fully.
The show, which centres around real life events, is based on the popular podcast of the same name by Nikki Boyer, who was by Molly’s side throughout her ordeal.
She worked closely with the series’ creators Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether for the television adaption of Molly’s joyful yet poignant story.
“The podcast did an incredible job of making you fall in love with these women but its very much them talking and hashing things together which we loved but we also wanted to tell the internal story of Molly and her experience of sex, which is quite a personal thing,” Meriwether explained during an interview with “Independent Media Lifestyle”.
Rosenstock added: “The podcast is so amazing and special on its own and we knew that we couldn't do that exactly because that's such an audio experience so we had to think of a way to get the same emotional impact as the podcast through telling this story visually.”
“There were some things that were undeniable, which we knew we had to keep from the podcast, which felt essential, and there were other things to explore.”
The duo were also thrilled to have worked with Boyer.
“Nikki Boyert gave us the freedom to explore the story, and we felt no pressure to be faithful to the podcast,” said Rosenstock.
Meriwether elaborated: “It could have gone so wrong; we were taking her life and her best friend's life and putting it on screen, but she's just such a wonderful person.”
“You can hear it in the podcast, you can hear it in the way she loves Molly. She is also such a creative person so I think that she understands the rhythm of having to step away sometimes and coming back to support us when we need it and any adaptation is a different thing.”
They also believe that as scores of people have experienced the devastating impact which cancer has on a patient as well as their loved one’s lives, individuals from across the globe will be able to resonate with it.
“It has so many things that people can connect with because sadly, many have had to deal with cancer and many people have had to be a caretaker,” said Rosenstock.
Despite its serious theme, she promised that viewers are also in store for lots of laughter and light-hearted moments.
“It’s got comedy, it's got tragedy, it's got an amazing mother-daughter relationship, and it's like a magic trunk which looks small but it's actually 8 000 pounds of stuff in it if you unpack it.”
“It’s also the level of intimacy between these friends, which is something that people will really be able to relate to and also the bravery of Molly for talking about all of this so frankly, it's something that probably explains why so many people were drawn to it and love it.”
These sentiments were shared by Meriwether.
“I felt like I hadn't seen this story before, and I loved that it was a comedy but that it had so much heart and a real emotion to it.”
“It is rare that we get to take this complicated, wonderful, goofy and loving journey with these two women and to be able to dig into these female characters was exciting to me.”
She also believes that “Dying for Sex” offers viewers a unique story.
“This is a story of a woman who was dying but also simultaneously having a sexual awakening and I felt like it was such a rich area for story telling and it was an amazing challenge to do that felt like would be a worthwhile story to put on screen.”
“I don’t think we normally look at people who are sick in that way, especially not on television or in movies.”
Ultimately, she hopes that the show will touch the lives of all who watch it.
“We wanted it to be fun, funny and joyful as much as Molly was as a person and in the same way.”
∎ “Dying for Sex” premieres on Disney+ on April 4.